Half Demon, No Mercy
by Wildcat X
Summary: A halfdemon loses the ability to feel when his parents and best friends are killed when he's 12. Now, a young boy has come into his life, and he cares again. See what happens when you anger a halfdemon.
1. Meeting the Kid

"Uhhhhhhh!" cried a demon as it fell to the earth in two pieces to join its fallen comrades. The demons' killer sheathed his sword. The only sound as he walked away was that of the summer-night's breeze. He disappeared into the shadows, unknowingly being watched.

-------  
The next day, he walked through the park, getting exercise and just relaxing. A branch snapped and headed straight for him. He simply raised his arm. The tree branch smashed into his forearm, shattering like glass, gaining not so much as a flinch.  
"Whoa!" said a little kid, not twenty feet away. "How'd ya do that mister?"  
The reply came with a smirk, "A lot of practice." Then he walked away, leaving the kid in awe.

-------  
He went back to his house on the outskirts of a town called Lakewood. He spots a demon in a clearing, not looking for him, but there, to its own misfortune, nonetheless.

"Well, I wasn't looking for a fight, but I'd be happy to oblige," He thought as the demon spotted him.

The demon wildly attacked him.

"Too easy," He said as he felled the demon in one swipe of his blade and a kick to the head.

He still had no idea his every move was being monitored.

-------

As he stood near the bay, staring into the water as if it were an endless abyss, he remembered that day, fifteen years ago, when his whole world was destroyed. He stood there, not aware of anything going on in reality, for what seems to him an eternity, replaying the horrific scene over and over in his mind.

"Hey mister!" Came a voice from behind, pulling him from the trance of his memories.

"Oh, it's you from the park, hey," comes the response.

"Hey, I've been hoping I'd see ya again. I was so amazed by what you did in the park the other day, that I never got to introduce myself. My name's Andrew, and I'm eight. What's your name?" Andrew questioned.

"I only give my name to one I trust. And that hasn't happened in fifteen years," was Andrew's answer.

"Oh," Andrew said, hanging his head.

The man got up, walked over to the ice-cream vendor about fifty yards away, and got two cones. He walked back and sat back beside the boy.

"You like chocolate, or vanilla? I like both, so I don't care which you want, "he inquired.

"Thanks, mister! I love chocolate ice-cream!" Andrew said, grinning and taking the cone.  
They finished their cones and talked about the weather, sports, and other things until about sunset.

"Hey, shouldn't you be getting home, your parents will get worried." The man said.

Now the happy-go-lucky look on the boys face faded, "I don't have any parents, they died in a wreck on their way to pick me up from pre-school four years ago."

This hit home with the man, "Sorry to hear that, I know what it's like, my parents were killed when I was twelve. Well, where's your orphanage, I'll walk you back."

And with that, the two stood up and walked the mile and a half back to Andrew's orphanage.


	2. Witnessing

Over the next few weeks, they had similar meetings. Andrew was beginning to become like a little brother to him. He went to the orphanage to get Andrew and take him to see a movie. When he got to the orphanage, he saw on the other side of the fence, Andrew getting picked on by some other, bigger, boys. He walked in the playground of the orphanage and went up to the boys pickings on Andrew.

"Andrew, there a problem here?" he asks as all of the heads turned his way.

Andrew walked over beside the man. "No. No problem. Let's go."

-------  
On the way to the theater, neither was talking for a few moments. "Talcan," The man said.

"What?" the kid asked dumbfounded.

"You wanted to know my name. My name is Talcan. I'm twenty-seven." He said.

"Cool," Andrew said as they got in sight of the theater. "So, you trust me now, right?"

"Yeah, heh, you're cool." Talcan said.

They got their tickets and went in to watch their horror movie. When the movie was over about two hours later, they left the theater, dumping the empty popcorn bags in the garbage, and started to head back to the orphanage. They passed an empty lot on the way and Talcan stopped.

Andrew turned and said, "What's wrong Talcan?"

"Andrew, I need you to go around the corner for a minute, ok."  
Andrew knew if Talcan wanted him to go around the corner, there must be a good reason. And as soon as he was gone, Talcan started talking, with no one there, that anyone else would be able to see, to listen.

"Whatda you want, come for a fight, or just lookin for some grub?" Talcan said as the outline of a demon became apparent from the darkness of the vacant lot.

"I was just looking for something, or someone, to eat, but I haven't had a good fight in ages. And if you're good enough to sense my presence, you will probably be a good opponent." The demon said as his fingernails grew out into daggers and he ran at Talcan.

"Nice weapon, but can it withstand this?" Talcan shouted as the demon was consumed into a ball of black flames (Talcan's Shadow Flame Inferno). The demon was destroyed, only a few body parts, severely charred, remained.

Andrew, noticing a big black flame resembling a flare, had come around the corner, and stood, once again in awe at Talcan's abilities. He saw Talcan, with his arm outstretched, looming over the burned remains of a story-book demon. Talcan looked over, but by this time, Andrew was back around the corner, trying to make sense of this. He kept trying to tell himself that he imagined it; that the demon, if that was what it was, tried to hurt his friend, and got caught up in his own power; anything to explain what he had just seen. Then, Talcan came around the corner.

"Hey buddy, why so shook up? Was the movie that scary?" Talcan questioned.

The only thing he got from Andrew was, "I don't want to get in trouble. Let's get back to the orphanage, okay?"

-------  
That night, sleep never found Andrew, his head in a frenzy, still trying to rationalize what had happened. For every explanation, a problem came up that threw it off. He lay awake all night, his mind racing. Finally, at about five-thirty in the morning, a mere hour-and-a-half before they were awakened, he got to sleep, but even this was not a peaceful sleep.

he got to sleep, but even this was not a peaceful sleep.


	3. The Truth

The next day, Andrew had finally stopped thinking about it. Talcan picked him up and they went back to the park, their place of their initial meeting. They had fun, chasing squirrels, feeding birds, and the like. And all was good. This went on for another month or so.

Then, Talcan was at the orphanage when Andrew woke up one Saturday morning. He was talking to the man that ran the orphanage. Andrew walked in, and they both looked at him.

"Ah, speak of the devil. Haha, Andrew, come in, come in, I believe you know this gentleman."

"Hey, Talcan, whats up, and why are you here so early?" Andrew asked, still a little groggy.

The owner cut in, "Why, didn't he tell you? Talcan is here because he wants to adopt you."

Andrew's jaw dropped as Talcan grinned. And with that, Andrew and Talcan became roommates. Talcan, after the first few days of meeting Andrew, had come to think of him as a little brother; and Andrew vice versa.

The very same day Talcan adopted Andrew and they went to his house, Talcan followed a trail, well trodden, to three graves and put

a flower on each.

"Fifteen years exactly."

-------  
A week after the adoption, Talcan decided to tell Andrew about his powers and about the demons. He's his brother-like figure; he can't keep something this big from him. So, he took him to his training spot, a big clearing with trees cut down and scorch marks on them.

"What happened here?" Andrew asked.

"Andrew, I have to tell you something." Talcan took a deep breath and proceeded. "There are some people, who have… gifts. What I mean is, so people have special powers that they use to fight with. And humans aren't the only ones; there are creatures out there, demons, they're…"

Andrew cut in, remembering that night, "You mean like the demon you killed using your powers?"

"You saw that?" Talcan shouted, shocked.

"I didn't mean to, that night, I saw a big black flare, and I was trying to see what was wrong. Then I saw you, with your arm outstretched, and the demon carcass that was incinerated." Andrew answered, apologetically.

"No big deal, I just wish you had told me, I spent all yesterday working on how to explain all of this to ya." Talcan said and began to chuckle. "Well, now, let me show you the basis of my powers." As he said this, he held his arm outstretched and created a black flame in his palm. "This is my power. The black flame, passed down by my father, just as this sword is." He said, pulling his sword out and showing it to Talcan.

-------  
"So, now that you know, I can tell you about that day, fifteen years ago last week." Talcan said as they took the path heading back to the house. "When I was twelve, my parents and best friend, were murdered, by a demon. And that day, I found out that I was a half-demon." Andrew froze and Talcan turned around. "Oh, don't worry, I'm a good guy. I'm not like them."

"Oh, ok," Andrew said and grinned.

"When I found out why they were killed, I couldn't stand living in this world unless he left it. And, I'm standing here now, aren't I?" Talcan let out a small chuckle, not going into the details of that fight.

"Well, they said my parents died in a wreck, but they would never let me see their bodies, they said it was because the wreck was so bad, and I was so young, but, as the years passed, I started to doubt that. I don't know, I just felt like, I had a right, they were my parents and they couldn't keep me from seeing them. But, now, all I have is this photo of them." Andrew finished by handing Talcan a picture that he always has with him.  
Talcan took the picture, and instantly remembered an incident four years ago.

He didn't think much of it at the time, just two more to the hands of a demon, and one more demon to his. "Andrew, they did lie to you."

"Huh?" He asked questioningly.

"I remember these two, or, what was left of them, four years ago in two months, right."

"Yeah, but how…" Andrew froze. "A, a demon?" he asked, seeming a little shaky.

"Yes, and he was quite power at that. But he fell to me."

"Well, at least, now, I know the truth," Andrew said taking back the picture. They walked the rest of the way back to the house in silence.


	4. Demon Gang

So, for another month, all was great. Talcan and Andrew, hanging out all the time, Talcan was even giving Andrew a little training. He didn't have any spirit control, but he could use a training sword pretty well. Talcan fought demons, killing them like always. And now, Andrew watched, and enjoyed it.

-------  
Andrew had almost mastered some of the basic techniques that Talcan had taught him. And Talcan could hardly get him to leave for home half of the time. But Andrew kept training and training until Talcan figured that he, with a real sword, could beat a very weak demon.

-------  
Exactly one month to the day after the adoption, Talcan came upon a demon in the woods.

"Lemme guess, you're here for a fight," Talcan said, facing the demon.

"That was the general idea, heh," the demon said. He took daggers from his belt and jumped at Talcan. Talcan evaded, and created an orb of black flames, then punched it as hard as he could (Flaming Magnum). It hit the demon, and he went crashing to the ground.

"Well, that's…" Talcan was cut off as the demon stood up, albeit a little wobbly. "Wow, that'd kill most demons."

"Well, I'm not 'most demons', now am I?" He said.

"Nope. Guess I'll have to kick it up a notch." Talcan said as he unsheathed his sword, cut an X on the demons chest, and struck dead center (X Strike). The demon didn't get up this time, and fell into a pool of his own, deep crimson blood.

Talcan then heard a rustle, followed by, "You'll pay for that!" He looked around, but he felt no energy in the woods.

-------  
Talcan was walking home the next afternoon from getting groceries. Andrew had stayed behind, wanting to continue training. When Talcan arrived, Andrew wasn't there. Talcan, figuring he was still at the training grounds, put all the groceries away. Then, he started down the path going to get Andrew for supper.

When he arrived, once again, Andrew was no where in sight. He hollered Andrew's name, searching for him, thinking he may have wandered off, or gotten bit by a snake, or… no, couldn't be. Talcan called and searched for about half an hour. Then, in a clearing, in a place where the sun can't shine because of the branches of the other trees, he finally found him. Andrew was lying there, bloody and battered, his training sword in shards. Talcan ran over to him, but, he was too late. Andrew, was dead.

"Noooooo!" Talcan screamed, so loud that birds were flying from the trees and rabbits and squirrels were running. "Thi… this ca, can't be, no, this is, all wrong. He never did anything, he's just a little kid, why would anyone, anything…" Talcan paused; remembering the empty threat of the previous day. 'You'll pay for that!'

-------  
Two hours later, Talcan was still searching the city, by cover of dark, beating every demon he found within an inch of its life. He then asked them if they knew anything about a boy that was killed and left on the scene. A no gave them death, a yes gave them life, or at least enough to give him details. After about thirty demons, all with no, Talcan was beginning to fret. There couldn't be that many more demons in this city, could there?

Finally, at the forty-fifth demon he had beaten, he got a yes. The information was that a demon henchman was hired by the leader of a gang, a gang of demons, to get Talcan, by taking out the person closest to his heart. He checked at his house, and found nothing, then, the assassin found the boy and killed him as planned.

"It was all revenge, you killed a lot of our gang over the years, all of them expendable," The demon said, wheezing in between because of a blow to the ribs. "But then, yesterday, the demon you killed was our second-in-command. That's why they killed the kid, because you killed the second." And after he finished, Talcan's blade found a temporary home in the demon's heart.

Talcan withdrew his sword, sheathed it, stood up and turned around. The demon had mentioned a warehouse, number eight, ironically. That was his destination. That was where vengeance would be served, for Andrew.


	5. Slaughter

"Warehouse eight. This is the place." Talcan said to himself as he walked up to the door and felt all the demon auras coming from it. He punched the door in, and all of the demons stared at him. "Knock, knock," He said, drawing his blade again. "Can I come in?" He yelled as he charged in slicing demons with almost every slash of his blade.

He cut his way through the demons, not caring about the damage inflicted upon himself, only thinking about killing the one that had taken Andrew. He cut down demons left and right, not counting, but sure that he had already taken out around twenty-five to thirty. He could care less if it was fifty demons in the room, or one-thousand. All he cared about was revenge.

His adrenaline was pumping so hard, that even though he had been gashed, he didn't know it. From the look of the wounds he had received, his veins had to be pumping at least fifty percent adrenaline. He stopped, once visible victims did, and looked around.

Blood covered the floor in pools, and he and his sword were stained with crimson. He looked across the field of massacre he had created. There had to be over two-hundred demons, or what he thought were two-hundred, most of them were in pieces, so it was hard to tell by just looking. He didn't care. He wanted to find their leader and the assassin who killed Andrew.

"Come out and face me!" Talcan shouted. It echoed off the walls, it appeared that he was alone. But not for long.

The floor in front of him split and a platform rose from the opening. A demon was standing on it, and grinning from ear-to-ear. He was tall, around six-feet six, and his skin was a pale blue, and looked tough as a snake's skin. "Hey, you're Talcan, huh?" he said as he stepped off the platform and it sank back down, the floor closing beneath it.

"Yeah, are you the leader of this band," Talcan said, pointing over his shoulder. "Or the assassin that killed my friend?" his grip tightened on the hilt of his blade.

"I'm not the leader, to face him, you'll have to defeat me, and I must warn you, no one has ever beat me. Ever."

"Well, you know what they say, there's a first time for everything." Talcan charged as the demon spouted wings and glided upward, hovering ten feet above.

Talcan kicked off the wall and slashed his blade upward. It would have been a hit, if the demon had not soared up another few feet. Talcan was trying to reach him, and throwing black fireballs, but all to no avail. The demon swooped down, evading Talcan's strike, and got in a good shot on Talcan's back.

Talcan hit him with a fireball, but the demon simply shrugged it off. The demon came swooping down from the rafters for another attack, this time clawing Talcan's left arm slightly, but getting a blade to his back. The demon soared up, as to avoid further damage. Talcan then covered his blade in black flames (Fiery Blade) and hurled it at the flying demon. He, not expecting this, was caught by the blade, and he and the blade fell at an angle, pinning him to the wall, the blade piercing his lungs. Talcan walked over, pulled out his sword, and walked in front of where the opening in the floor had been.

It opened, and the platform came up, this time, with another demon; a much larger demon. "I am Aishoki, I am, or was from the looks of it, the leader of this gang. You're Talcan aren't you?"

"Yeah, get ready to fight," He said.

The battle started. Talcan made the first hit, not fatal, but close. Then, the leader threw his hand out and Talcan was knocked backwards, landing on a slaughter demon.

"So, a wind demon huh?" Talcan said with a smug look on his face.

The demon responded by shooting an air stream at Talcan. He avoided it and dashed right up to the demon. And, as Talcan knew, an air demon couldn't do anything without hurting himself if the victim was right next to him. He hit him in the gut with a right hook, making him double over. But Aishoki hit Talcan in the knee while he was faking the injury, and blasted him away. Talcan's adrenaline was still going strong, he hardly felt the blows.

Then he took out his sword again, and sprinted toward Aishoki. He got close, but the wind demon shot another air stream at him. But this was what Talcan intended upon. At the second he felt the wind, he chunked his sword into the slipstream of the air current, causing it to accelerate toward the source; Aishoki. The sword went straight through the demon's throat, severing his head in an instant.

Talcan wiped his brow, which was dumb, because all he did was get blood on his forehead. "It's over, he's dead." Talcan walked over and picked up his sword. Sheathing it, he turned toward the door.

All of the sudden, the doors melted together, trapping him inside. Then came a threatening voice. "You think it's over? This fight hasn't even begun."


	6. Vengence

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Talcan shouted. Then, up from the ground, spouted a demon. He was about six-foot three, dark red skin, and blonde hair with black bangs. His eyes were a cold gray, and he wore a red tee-shirt, black pants, and a black trench coat.

"Hello, Talcan. Remember me?" he said, pulling his shirt up, revealing a deep wound from a blade, and instantly, Talcan remembered. "Yes, that was me. Two years ago. You dealt to me this blow, that anyone would consider fatal, and left me to die. And I would have, if not for my powers of manipulation. I turned some plants into bandages and some others into medicines. In two months, I was back on my feet, stronger than before. I've been watching you from the darkness ever since. I guess I have you to thank, without you delivering that hit to me, I would have never been able to take control of this organization. But anyway, I'm rambling on, let's get on to your demise, shall we, "

"It's not my demise that were headed for, it's your!" Talcan shouted, and again, he drew his blade.

He raced toward Karuoshi, and in an instant, was on the ground. The floor spouted arms and tripped him. Talcan instinctively dodged landing where he would, for fear of a spike, though he knew there wouldn't be one, because if Karuoshi wanted to end it quick, he would have grabbed him instead of tripping him. Karuoshi was just toying with him.  
Talcan grabbed his blade that lay next to him. He charged the old enemy, slicing at him. Karuoshi's arm was struck, and Talcan could see it was a bad wound. But then, his arm slowly sealed up, and there wasn't even a faint scar where, just a few seconds ago, you could almost see the bone.

Talcan jumped back. "Well, that's new." Talcan kept his cool, but mentally was contemplating how to defeat an enemy that could heal himself.

"Yes, it is new, thanks for noticing. In fact, this is one of the reasons I should be thanking you, Talcan," Karuoshi smirked, and grabbed Talcan's ankles through the floor again, flipping him over, and dropped him. "You know what, this is fun!"

When Talcan got back on his feet and got his bearings, he, once again, charged his old rival. And, once again, the wound healed, and he jumped back.

"That tickles," Karuoshi chuckled. "Oh, come now Talcan, you can do better than that. That was the whole reason I had the boy killed, to get you more powerful by way of anger, so that you would be a match for my new abilities. But, if you can't even put up a fight, then the past two years of tracking you will have been for nothing."

"You, you killed him, because you wanted a better fight? How could you do something like that? He was just a kid! He was only eight years old! He endured a lot of disaster in his life, and then was repaid by being killed by a demon, the same fate as his parents! But you're worse than that demon, that demon killed for food, you killed for spite! NO MORE!" Talcan shouted, and releasing his anger, something snapped.

"AHHHHH!" Talcan shouted, his arms growing larger, the muscles expanded, bulging because of their already massive size. He was shaking slightly, not much, but you could still tell it. His breathing, rather than his normal cool and calm, was very deep and erratic.

His head was bent, just to where Karuoshi couldn't see his face. Talcan slowly raised his head. His breathing was still deep, but it had steadied. His shaking stopped. Talcan had his head fully raised so it was straight forward. He opened his eyes, and now, the pupils were turned into slits, and the normal quiet look on his face had disappeared, leaving a scornful hatred.

"Now we're getting somewhere, I thought for sure…" the demon was cut short by a blow to get gut from the hilt of Talcan's sword. "Well," he said recovering, "you've improved in speed as well as power. Goo…" Talcan slammed the bottom of his fist into the small of Karuoshi's back, knocking him down.

Talcan stood as his foe rose again. "Very well, Tal…" He was once again cut short, this time by a right hook. "Okay Talcan, if that's the way you want it, so be…" again, he was stopped in mid-speech, this time by a strong left hook to the chest. But this time, Karuoshi was knocked against the far wall.

Talcan didn't care about the fight anymore, he didn't care about his safety, he didn't care about much at all now, he was just power being unleashed, and Karuoshi was the target. Talcan charged his demonic enemy, his blade at the ready, and struck, this time severing his adversaries left arm. But, he had charged the blade with his flames, and this time, the wound did not heal. The demon growled, Talcan now knew his weakness. Like Hercules and the Hydra, when Karuoshi was burned, the injury could not be healed.

Talcan saw this as his opportunity. "Burn in hell!" Talcan shouted. The blade still enveloped in his flaming aura, he sliced a huge X over Karuoshi's chest and struck dead center (X strike). But unlike the normal attack, the flames left the blade. Karuoshi's eyed rolled into the back of his head and he started violently shaking. Black flames started appearing from his body, first from the wound, then his arms, then the legs, head, and the whole body was consumed with Talcan's flaming aura. He killed his enemy, and in the process, gained an upgrade for his attack; the X Strike Implosion!

It was done. The demon deep-fried, his vengeance settled. His muscles, eyes and mind went back to normal. And in the morning, all the gashes burned. But it was worth it. In about two months, he was completely healed physically. But mentally, the sight of the four people that had mattered in his life, his parents, old friend, and Andrew, haunted his memories always.


End file.
